Friday, August 13, 2010

Team Chevy Qualifying Notes From Michigan CARFAX 400

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 2ND

“This was our first run in qualifying trim today and it went really well for us. But I’m just proud of the effort we put forth in this Lowe’s Chevrolet today. We struggled a little bit in practice there and focused on a specific area of the race track and we got the car a lot better. Not a good lap; not the best lap, but we got a good lap. My future teammate (Kasey Kahne) had to come in and spoil our fun. But it’s just been a great day all in all to be honest with you.”

DID YOU THINK YOU HAD IT?

“Oh, he (Kasey Kahne) did a great job. We had a great lap. I just needed a little bit more speed.”

ON THE LAP

“I’m very proud of the effort we made today. I certainly would have liked to win the pole. It’s been since Homestead last year since we have won a pole. We’ve been close a few times but today we were a little bit off in practice in one section of the race track. We improved it and made it better and met our goals today for the most part. Winning the pole would have been everything for us. But we’ll come back and practice tomorrow and work on that stuff and go onto the event from there. I would love to win one here; especially for Chevrolet.”

“Oh, when I was going down the back straightaway I was thinking this isn’t going to be very good. I got loose right in the middle of (Turns) 1 and 2 and I wasn’t able to go wide open and putt the throttle down wide open. And I went down into (Turn) 3 and got tight and I thought, oh I’ve messed both ends up. This is going to be horrible! And I pretty much said that on the radio. And Richard (Childress) said, ‘I’m glad it felt horrible ’cause you’re on the pole’ (laughs). So I’m not swallowing my words there.

“It didn’t feel very good. I was loose through (Turns) 1 and 2 and I couldn’t put the throttle all the way down like I thought I needed to. And then I got into (Turn) 3 and got tight and I thought oh man, I just messed both ends up.”

WHAT DO YOU WORK ON TOMORROW IN PRACTICE TO MAKE IT RIGHT FOR SUNDAY?

“Our car was good in practice. It was a little bit off in qualifying trim, but the guys made the right adjustments accordingly. Just starting up front is good. I don’t know if that’ll hang in there for the pole or whatever; I don’t care. Starting in the top ten where you can see the front and have some clean air and enjoy a decent pit stall, those just mean so much at a big track like this. I just care about a good run on Sunday.”

TONY STEWART, NO. OFFICE DEPOT/OLD SPICE CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 4th

TELL US HOW GOOD THAT LAP WAS
“I’m not a very good qualifier normally, so to be this close is a really good run for the Office Depot/Old Spice team. They’ve been doing an awesome job. We felt like we’ve been a little bit behind here recently. But we’re not way behind, obviously, today. We’re making some steps and gains in the right direction. So I’m really appreciative of that.”

ON THE LAP

“It was a good lap. I was happy with it. It wasn’t quite as good as the guys in front of me, but it was a good lap. I was real happy with it. I’m real happy with our power. I know everybody at Hendrick Engines has been working real hard to get us caught up here and today, I think with Jimmie’s (Johnson) run and our run, they’re making some ground. So we’re real appreciative of those guys. Everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing has done an awesome job.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 5TH “It was a good lap for the conditions, I think. We were pretty unlucky with the sun; the sun came out right as we ran, and that didn’t help it. I don’t think that’s going to stand for a pole, but if we could start somewhere in the top five or six, that would be nice.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 SHELL/PENNZOIL CHEVROLET QUALIFIED 8TH: “Anything in the top 15 for us changes the whole complexion of the race for us. We haven’t been qualifying as good as we’d like to, and that’s been one of the things that we’ve been working on the most, and our qualifying has gotten better, and if we can do that we’ll be in a lot better shape.”

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 12TH: “I was real proud the effort that we put together today. We made a lot of good use out of our practices. We got the car really comfortable in race trim and qualifying trim. I thought that was a really stellar lap that we got. We were a little off on our speed, but we’ll be working on that tomorrow.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 TORNADOS CHEVROLET, QUALIFIED 17TH: TALK ABOUT YOUR LAP: “It was good coming to the green then I never got (turns) three and four right. I felt like I had a decent (turns) one and two but just didn’t get (turns) three and four. Good effort with the Tornados Chevrolet. We’ll see what we can do in race trim.”

HOW HOT WAS IT OUT THERE FOR QUALIFYING? “It is really hot out there. A decent lap. I don’t think it will be a stellar top-five. We just can’t seem to catch a break. We get a bad draw whenever there is a chance to have a bad draw. We didn’t’ get (turns) three and four quite right, but a good effort for the guys. We’ll see what we can do in race trim. Luckily, it is the best and easiest race track to pass on.”

WHAT DIFFERENCE DID THE DRAW MAKE HERE TODAY? “I don’t know exactly what it is going to do. In the spring here, the guys that went out early, it had just rained, so there was an advantage there. Now, they had practice right up until the start of qualifying with the Nationwide cars, so it is like even when you can’t get break, the break is even worse than you expected.”

WHAT IS A LAP LIKE AROUND MICHIGAN? “It is fast and it is hot. Especially today. The humidity is high; just have to keep the water down.”

Joey Logano (No. 22 Pennzoil Ford)· One top five, two top 10s; one pole· Average finish of 12.3· Average Running Position of 13.8, seventh-best· Driver Rating of 87.5, 11th-best· Average Green Flag Speed of 170.111 mph, 12th-fastest